Reference no: EM131963939

Diet and diabetes. Does eating more fiber reduce the blood cholesterol level of patients with diabetes? A randomized clinical trial compared normal and high-fiber diets. Here is part of the researchers' conclusion: "The high-fiber diet reduced plasma total cholesterol concentrations by 6.7 percent (P = 0.02), triglyceride concentrations by 10.2 percent (P = 0.02), and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations by 12.5 percent (P = 0.01)." A doctor who knows no 856 statistics says that a drop of 6.7% in cholesterol isn't a lot-maybe it's just an accident due to the chance assignment of patients to the two diets. Explain in simple language how "P = 0.02" answers this objection